Electric cars: Lancashire drivers yet to be convinced

Despite one in five Lancashire drivers saying they would buy an electric car in the next two years, a new study has revealed that 70% of people don't think there are enough charging points and 90% feel the government should be doing more to help.

With Millennials leading the ‘eco-drive’, a survey by carwow shows that two in five (42%) of under-35-year-olds have pledged to go green by 2020, despite just 5,021 publicly-available charging points having been added to the network over the past 12 months, taking the total to 17,729 across the UK and just 1,256 in the North West.

Statistics suggest that the country is still woefully unprepared to cope with the anticipated demand from the 4.4 million extra car owners looking to go green, with the lack of charging points, the price of electric vehicles, and anxiety over the range of models available to them still the main sticking points for Lancastrians thinking about going green.

“If the Government is serious about enabling drivers to ‘go green’ then they need to take positive action," said Andrew Hooks, chief operating officer at carwow. "Urgent action is required from our Government to invest in the infrastructure needed to allow Britain to embrace the electric revolution.

"If we fail to plan for the infrastructure required, drivers will be further discouraged from adopting more eco-friendly models when in reality the time is right to capitalise on public appetite," he added. "A joined-up approach from the motoring industry and local and central government is crucial in making it easy to own and run an electric car.”